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In the light of the info on another FR thread at #3 and #33, effective corrective steps have reduced the incidence of abuse, at present, to near-zero in most Catholic institutions --- a record not even remotely approached in any other church or school system in the USA, and certainly not in the public schools.

One weird aspect of this is that most of the abuse was between the mid-60's and the mid-80's, which is to say, 25-45 years ago. The diligent work of Cardinal Ratzinger when he was at the CDF, and now as Pope Benedict XVI, has rooted most of this stuff out of the Church.

So now we have the New York Times banner-headlining stuff like the Fr. Murphy case, where the offenses were committed 45-50 years ago and the old perp has been dead for 12 years; and without any evidence that Ratzinger even knew about the case, they try to make it Ratzinger/Benedict's fault.

And with every step he's taken to restore discipline, he's accused of restoring the "inquisition" ---by this same NYT writer, Laurie Goodstein-- (one link of many!) and of being--- let's not forget--- "antigay."

It's frustrating that they try to pin the blame for abuse on the very guy whose main "fault' has been doctrinal and disciplinary effectiveness.

It's like blaming the fires on the Fire Department, or the crime wave on the police.

I am a protestant but as long as you believe that Jesus died for your sins and was the son of God ,we all are saved. So it is not the catholic faith that I address. It is the catholic criminal priests. I’m afraid that Ratzinger was complicit in a cover up . We are not talking about misdemeanors here. This is child molestation and child rape.No one is above the law. Arrest and prosecution should ensue immediately.

I am so digusted by all these “hate Catholics” articles I just don’t read them. I thought this was a real article and that’s why I clicked on it.

Then it turned out it was a fake article written by an idiot for reasons unclear, and the thread is peopled by Catholic haters and probably God in general haters.

Your comments and Arrogant Bustard’s are the only ones worth reading (and a couple of other names, forgive me for forgetting - I read this thread sevearl hours ago).

People who call religious beliefs a myth are taking (in their own minds) the place of God - the All Knowing Supreme Being. Their statements based on brittle bravado only reveal their envy and ignorance.